The UK-France migrant deal is further risking the lives of refugees

The announcement that the UK and France have reached an agreement over preventing people from crossing the English Channel, is deeply worrying.

This week, French president Emmanuel Macron met with Prime Minister Keir Starmer to discuss how to “tackle small boat crossings”. Given this marked the first state visit to the UK by a European leader following Brexit, it is disappointing that our leaders chose to focus on a deterrence and enforcement approach that simply does not work.

We know – from working with survivors of torture who’ve risked their lives trying to find safety – that when states ramp up the violence to securitise their borders it only ever makes people’s journeys more dangerous. Agreements should prioritise the safety, dignity and access to international protection of those fleeing unimaginable horrors.

Certainly, international cooperation is absolutely fundamental when it comes to migration issues. But when Governments respond to the challenge of unauthorised border crossings, they must maintain compliance with international law and respect for the human dignity of the people making these journeys. This is an undertaking that will require global solutions and robust agreements.

Honouring refugees

It is a heavy reality that this news has come after the UK recently marked Refugee Week, a time when we honour those forced to flee the places they call home. World Refugee Day, which is marked during this same week every June, offering us the opportunity to recognise not only the challenges that refugees face, but also their resilience and courage, was established to commemorate the 1951 Refugee Convention. Many decades on, it is still urgently required.

Indeed, as this week has demonstrated, the fight for safety, dignity, and belonging for refugees doesn’t just end when this period is over. It’s a daily struggle.

For me, it holds a more personal meaning. In 2005, 4 years after Refugee Day was first celebrated, I fled my home in central Africa to escape torture after being persecuted for refusing to help the government win an election. When I arrived in the UK I had to quickly adjust to my new labels: ‘refugee’, ‘torture survivor’. Almost overnight I lost the other parts of my identity that defined me: ‘community leader’, ‘family member’, and – too often overlooked - ‘human being’.

For those who survive the dangerous journeys to find sanctuary, the welcome they receive can be cold and hostile. And those who do make it here are the lucky ones. How often do we read headlines about men, women, and children drowning in flimsy dinghies?

In the absence of accessible safe routes, many have no choice but to risk their lives. Survivors I work with describe the decision as ‘fleeing a burning house’.

Criminalising refugees

Right now, instead of offering protection, the UK Government is also pushing through a raft of anti-refugee measures that punish people seeking sanctuary. Currently making its way through Parliament, the latest – the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill – claims to target smuggling gangs. But its sweeping criminal offences and counter-terror style powers are so broad they'll likely catch many refugees in its net, including survivors of torture like me.

The Bill risks punishing desperate people – who, through no fault of their own, are forced to rely on the services of smugglers – simply for seeking safety.

I’m still shocked by how the media reports on these issues. Despite only making up 2% of all immigration to the UK, people crossing in small boats dominate headlines and political discourse. This obsession fuels fear and hostility, making it almost impossible to hold space for facts, compassion, or workable solutions.

Refugees – including torture survivors – deserve not just safety, but the chance to belong, to rebuild, and to thrive. That’s why the Government’s recent ban on citizenship for refugees is so devastating. These changes will block countless refugees from ever becoming British citizens – punishing them for how they arrived, in clear breach of the Refugee Convention.

But beyond legalities, it sends a chilling message: you are not welcome; you will never belong. This truly appals me.

This goes far beyond refugee policy. It speaks to the kind of society that we are becoming.

As we approach the anniversary of the racist riots that tore through our communities, we are reminded how easily vulnerable communities can be scapegoated – how 'us’ and 'them’ narratives, fuelled by political decisions like this, lead to division and to real harm.

But it really doesn’t have to be this way. Ordinary people can show that compassion still exists in this country. We can demand better from our leaders – at every level – and rebuild an asylum system that is rooted in fairness and compassion. Organisations like Together with Refugees (a coalition of over 600 refugee groups that campaign for refugee rights) offer clear ways to take action.

Refugees don’t simply appear out of thin air. Behind every person forced to flee is a story – of torture, of war, of unimaginable horrors,  but also of resilience, endurance and hope. Only by facing these truths and embracing the potential in every refugee can we begin to build a fairer, more compassionate society we all deserve.

Kolbassia Haoussou is the Director of Survivor Leadership & Influencing at Freedom from Torture. Freedom from Torture is the only UK-wide charity that exists specifically to support people who have survived torture to recover and rebuild their lives. With survivors we speak out to expose torture and defend the rights of survivors, nationally and globally.

Follow Kolbassia on X: @haoussou

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Opinions expressed in this article remain those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The New Arab, its editorial board or staff.